The Death of Leaf Village
by zopponde
Summary: Rated to be safe.Very heavy as in focusing on yuri or shoujo ai, as well as a good deal on yaoi or shounen ai.Why did it have to be the Rookie NINE?As an odd number, no matter how you roll the dice, someone's left out. Why does that someone have to be Ino
1. Ino

Appologies for the crammed summary. There weren't enough characters.

I do not own Naruto.

Nor do I know how this story came to be. It was going to be this Ino/Shikamaru piece, but...oh, yeah, that's what happened. I'm too much of a yaoi fangirl and couldn't let Shikamaru be paired up with anyone other than Chouji. Or another male, but Chouji works out best. So...yeah. Much yaoi, much yuri, most couples in the whole thing introduced here. Most, mind.

And I'll explain the title next chapter, when it won't give everything away.

-1-

Ino sighed sadly to herself as she lay on a bench in the park, staring at the sky. A normal day, not many clouds, but enough that she could stare at them and think of images that might raise her from her depression.

But, alas, if anything, they reminded her of her sorrows, they unforgivingly wouldn't change shape from what Ino saw, they wouldn't stop looking like a boy with lightweight, feathery hair whose lips touched those of a girl with long hair held back by a ribbon.

'_Why does Sasuke only notice Sakura, anyway?_' Ino thought miserably. '_Why is it that he seems to be in love with her, but he just seems to ignore me? Why Sakura, what's so much better about her than me? Is it something about pink hair? It's not fair that_ she _should be getting him, I've known him longer…_'

The blonde closed her pure blue eyes to stop from looking at the taunting clouds. '_I'm all alone. I mean, Hinata doesn't really have anyone, but she can at least chase after Naruto—he doesn't ignore her, he doesn't hate her, if he only notices that she loves him, he'd probably love her back. He might already, but…it's not like how Sasuke is with me…he actually hates me, he actually doesn't want me there. He actually has a commitment, to_ Sakura, _that he's not going to break over some plain blondie like me. I'm worthless—nobody's going to stop for me, I'm all alone…_'

She sighed again, opening her eyes halfway tiredly. '_Maybe I should just end it all. Maybe I should stop fooling myself about all this—I'm not a particularly good ninja, I'm no good with boys…the only thing I'm good at is flower arrangements, and if I'm getting allergies, I can't really do that, can I?_' Ino closed her eyes again and sighed once more.

Her eyes flew open again when she realized the shape of the clouds. The boy's hair had changed—it was now sitting in a high ponytail, and the hair-like pieces of cloud were going up the top of the girl's head, too, putting her hair into a longer ponytail.

Ino smiled slightly. It looked like herself and Shikamaru.

But that would never be—she had tried once, but he really didn't seem to like her. Or any other girls, for that matter—he always brushed them off, saying that they were troublesome. Ino knew, better than anyone else perhaps, that he was either interested only in boys or he wasn't interested in anyone at all. Which was just as well—Chouji got along with him well, Ino could hardly not see the two of them getting together like that. Some people planted rumors about him and a girl from Sand Village, but really, how plausible was that? Not at all. If Ino was troublesome, a spunky girl from across cities and towns and countries and biomes would probably convince him for good that he liked Chouji better than any woman capable of existing in this crazy world.

Who else could she possibly live with? She didn't really know a lot of people—her obsession with Sasuke had kept her isolated from the rest of the male population, so the only other boys she knew were the other two from the rookie year.

And, frankly, she somehow doubted that Kiba was straight. He almost definitely liked boys better than girls. Ino saw him having dinner alone with Shino, and she distinctly remembered seeing that neither of them were at all awkward—they seemed to be meant for each other.

Ino sighed tiredly. '_Why is it that out of six boys, only two of them are straight? Although, I guess I don't really have any proof about Naruto…or Sasuke, I guess, either. If those two aren't straight they're bisexual though, confirmably. Naruto has a thing for Sakura and Sasuke…well, you know, maybe that would explain why all these years of following and he's done everything he can to avoid us rather than just go out with someone…_'

Another sigh. Those seemed far too very unfortunately fitting at this second. One more, maybe even ten more in this minute alone, would probably not be enough to express her sorrow.

"Excuse me," a cheerful female voice asked, "could you please move your legs so I can sit here?"

Ino looked up at her unwelcome visitor. She was a girl about a year older than Ino, with brown hair pulled into two panda-like buns. Her smile somehow reassured the blonde, perhaps more so than most people would consider it, and thus Ino found herself wanting so very greatly that the girl would stay longer.

"Huh? Yeah, okay…" Ino agreed. She turned to sit up straight, thus taking up only half of the bench rather than all of it, and the brunette sat down next to her.

The first girl at the bench turned her gaze back up to the skies, where the cloud that once looked like Sakura and Sasuke seemed to have broken up into some unrecognizable mass. The newly arrived girl followed suit, and something she saw made her gaze turn distant and she sighed.

"Do you know what it's like," the brunette asked, "to feel like you're entirely ignored? I mean, that nobody at all pays any attention to you? That there's nobody who'll notice you at all, no matter what you do, and you're destined or something to be alone forever?"

Ino turned her unembellished blue eyes, now wide with surprise that her mind seemed to have been read, to the panda-like girl. "Y-yes, I have," Ino responded. "That was almost exactly what I was thinking when you came!"

The smiling newcomer swiveled her head to meet Ino's bright blue gaze with her own chocolate-colored stare that mirrored the knowing smile on her lips.

Ino felt a hand holding hers, and she knew that the dark-haired girl had taken her hand, perhaps more than friendly…

"My name's TenTen," the questionably telepathic newcomer introduced. "What's yours?"

"I-Ino," Ino replied. "And…well, how did you know that…"

TenTen shrugged, still smiling. "I get ignored a lot, too. I'm on the same team as a genius who doesn't seem particularly fond of anyone and a…" Her brow wrinkled as she tried to think of words to describe her other teammate. "Um…well, he only cares about training and getting better, he doesn't pay any attention to girls—I mean, I'm not sure what he thinks about guys, but he sure does seem too distracted by training to look at anyone at all, and if he's thinking of anyone, he's thinking of this one Sakura girl." She rolled her eyes, her expression clear again of uncertainty.

Ino smiled. "Mine's not much better. Another genius who dismisses every girl he lays eyes on as 'troublesome,' and this other guy…well, let's just say that I'll probably have some part in planning their wedding. They're pretty much made for each other—the only thing that might get in their way would be the fact that they're both boys."

TenTen sighed, staring at the sky again but still holding Ino's hand. "Yeah…don't you wish there was someone there for you, someone that you loved so much that you just knew it the first time you looked at them, and that loved you so much that it didn't even matter if you were both the same sex, you still wanted to get married?"

Ino blinked. '_Those buns must be, like, antenaes or something to pick up thoughts_," Ino thought in awe, shortly before she smiled again, closed her eyes, and leaned her head on TenTen's shoulder. "Not quite…I never thought of it that way. But, now that you have me thinking of it…I wonder if I even need to, now that I've met you."

TenTen smiled as well, and leaned her head in to rest on Ino's. "No, I guess you don't…and I don't think I need to wish any longer, either."

-fin-


	2. Hinata

Um...yeah. I guess the story's AU now, because I'm not sure they have malls in the ninja world...

I do not own Naruto.

This is where it starts to get angsty/drama/ish. I don't know. All I know is that I look back and shake my head, wondering why the hell I wrote it. Oh well. I wrote it, the first chapter is posted, and the first person to notice me here noticed me because of this story, so I'm going to keep posting it. Fun.

And, yeah. The next...okay, three chapters take place in the mall. And what happens over three chapters? I...don't...know. It seemed like a lot at the time, but now it seems like a lot less. Oh well. It is a series by the way--the chapter before this is actually related (theoretically, at least, I suppose it might not be but it's more likely and considering how all the other chapters work...yeah, okay, I'll shut up), so, yeah. Keep that in mind, if you don't/didn't like InoTen, then, well, deal with it, or why are you reading this story still, or whatever. Yeah.

Only other comment: I NEED A BETA READER! Well, maybe not need, but...damn it, it sure would be nice for someone to tell me whether or not it's only in my mind that this stuff makes sense!

**_-2-  
-Hinata-_**

Sakura sat on a bench outside a dressing room, waiting for Hinata to get on the outfit that she wanted to see on her body. There wasn't a doubt in Sakura's mind that Hinata would be absolutely stunning in those selected clothes, and that those were exactly the right sizes for her, but she had still insisted on playing runway, putting on the outfit and displaying it to make sure Sakura agreed that she wore it well. After all, Sakura was the fashion expert, after maybe possibly Ino, but Ino was busy at the time, something about the mall…

Funny that Ino would say she couldn't go with Hinata to the mall because she was going to the mall. However, Hinata and Sakura both had figured it out—Ino probably wasn't just going on a shopping spree, she was most likely coming to the mall with _someone_, as in a boyfriend, and neither of them would possibly have allowed their own uncertainty about fashion stop Ino on a date, especially seeing how depressed Ino had seemed lately, seemingly about how there was nobody for her to go out with. It was exactly what Ino needed, and Hinata and Sakura both saw that, so neither of them questioned Ino's reluctance to meet up with them.

There was something to be missed, though. Sakura was happy that Ino wasn't going to be depressed anymore, but if she had a boyfriend, that would mean less time between herself and the blonde. She had been thinking things about Ino lately, and…she'd almost been thinking about being more than just Ino's friend. Sometimes she hated herself for thinking it, but there was something about Ino that made Sakura think about her in ways that almost seemed similar to how she occasionally thought of Sasuke—beautiful Sasuke, whom she loved more than anyone…well, more than any male, she supposed, but probably not anyone in general, because of Ino…

The dressing room door opened, and Hinata walked out, sporting a black pleated short skirt, not quite a miniskirt as it reached halfway up her thigh, the seams popping out in a pale lavendar thread, and a shirt the same color as the threads with a low neckline shaped by corners. "So?" she asked quietly. "How do I look?"

"You look fabulous!" Sakura encouraged. "Naruto will be swooning over you the moment he sees you in that!"

Hinata felt her hopes fall a little. '_I wasn't really thinking of Naruto when I picked this out…_' Truth be told, Hinata was actually glad that Ino couldn't come. It meant that Sakura would take her stead, and that meant Hinata and Sakura would be alone. "U-um, I'm still not sure if it'll really get the effect I want," she stammered honestly; after all, Sakura seemed pretty casual about it…

Sakura smiled, stood up, and took Hinata into a friendly hug. "Hinata, you are a beautiful girl, and you don't need these clothes to prove that—but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't grace the world with the stunning image of yourself in this perfect outfit for you."

Hinata blushed slightly and smiled a little, her eyes closing to savor the moment of Sakura's embrace. She paused, unwilling to say anything, for words would break the magic that made the moment worth prolonging. The seconds passed, Hinata doing everything she could to burn this minute into her best memories forever, procrastinating the end of this feeling of love, of warmth, of feeling the arms of the person she loved most around her. Almost a full minute passed before Sakura ruined the magic herself, asking, "Well? Are you going to get it or not?" She released the Hyuuga and stepped back slightly, looking at Hinata questioningly and almost suspiciously.

"O-oh, um," Hinata stammered, sadly taken aback by the end of the moment, "y-yes, I think I will get it…I mean, if it really looks that great…"

Sakura smiled again. "Good! I think you'll be a lot happier with the results you get from that outfit, Hinata! Now, I guess you shoud go change so we can pay for that."

Hinata wasn't quite sure. She really liked that hug that Sakura gave her—the longer she wore those clothes, the more hugs she got from Sakura—dear Sakura who helped Hinata pick the best clothes, lovely Sakura who set Hinata's heart fluttering just thinking about her, sweet Sakura who gave Hinata hugs that she wished would last forever, and ever, and never end, when she wore these clothes that Sakura wanted her to change out of.

But, it couldn't be helped, could it? Sakura had a point in that they couldn't very well pay for the clothes while Hinata still wore them, so Hinata sighed and nodded before turning back to the dressing room and changing back into her normal clothes. She looked in the mirror and frowned at her plain clothes, at her faded hoodie and well-used capri pants. Her new outfit was more interesting, more coordinated, and more…open, perhaps? Maybe it was the low cut of the shirt, the shortness of the skirt, that made Sakura give her that hug. Maybe…

Hinata unzipped her hoodie, wearing it open to show her plain white tank underneath. It wasn't much prettier than before, but…anything to increase her chances, anything that might make Sakura like her more, anything that had a chance of making Sakura want to hug her again, even slightly.

As she emerged from the room, Hinata noticed Sakura staring into space, looking almost sad. Hinata frowned, worried, and sat down next to her secret crush. "S-Sakura? Is something wrong?"

Sakura turned to face Hinata, her normally sparkling emerald eyes unusually dull. "I-I don't know Hinata, I'm just…I don't know, I guess I'm just a little…" She took another deep breath and turned her troubled face toward the floor, staring determinedly at a spot on the floor. "I guess…well, Hinata…I kind of…well, what do you think about…what would you say if I told you that…well…if…the boy that I most want is Sasuke, but…if I'm not sure that he's the _person_ I most want?" Sakura finally asked uncertainly, fearing Hinata's scorn.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat—what if Sakura was talking about Hinata? It would be so perfect…Hinata smiled and answered, "Sakura, I'd say…I'd say that…" She took a deep breath, thinking it over. "I'd say that…I kind of agree," Hinata finished with an air of pride. "I mean—not Sasuke, Naruto's my favorite boy, but, there are other people that I want…just a little bit more than him."

Sakura's eyes immediately brightened as she turned them to face Hinata. "So, you don't have a problem with me not being straight?"

Hinata smiled. "Of course I don't, Sakura."

Sakura sighed in relief. "Thank you, Hinata. Thank you so much for letting me confess to you. I love you so much—I mean," she ammended, ruining Hinata's split second of true pure untarnished glorious happiness as soon as it came with those two words. "I mean, no, not quite like that, it's not like…I don't…well, no, I guess what I should say is that there are people that I like more…"

Hinata's hopes rose and fell as Sakura's words tumbled out, but they ultimately fell when she said that there was someone else—maybe even more than one person. "W-who is it?"

Sakura sighed again, wistful and perhaps a little heartbroken this time, as her gaze returned to the spot on the floor. "Well…what I meant to say at first is that…Ino, well, her boyfriend…I'm really kind of…okay, forget the kind of—I'm really jealous of Ino's boyfriend. Lately I've been thinking…maybe Ino and I should be more than just friends—I seriously want us to be so much more than friends, I want us to be…" She sighed. "I know it sounds silly, coming from someone my age, but I wish I could marry her. If two girls could have children, I'd want to bear hers. It might sound like it's just lust but…I want us to be together, forever, always, unseperable by any family, any girl, any boy, any distance…"

Hinata sighed as well. "I know that feeling…that exact same feeling, I swear…"

"You mean," Sakura asked, looking at Hinata with her eyes wide with surprise, "do you mean that you like Ino too?" Her stare turned into something of a glare. "Well, too bad, you can't have her—I saw her first, I'm going to make sure that if Ino goes out with any girl it's going to be—"

"N-no, not q-quite," Hinata ammended. "I mean…I have that same feeling, b-but…for…well, s-s-someone else…" She blushed and looked away, looked at the same spot Sakura stared at earlier.

Sakura's gaze softened, and she almost seemed to smile. "Oh. Okay." She turned to face the spot on the floor again. "Well…that was interesting," she realized, smiling quite widely now. "I mean, we come here for an outfit, and in the end I confess to being in love with Ino, and you confess to…well, I guess you said you're not straight, but not really much more. So, come on, let's go pay for that cute outfit. I think we've spent enough time here if we're coming out of the closet for no particular reason."

Hinata smiled, her cheeks only barely colored now, picked up her clothes and followed Sakura to the cashier to pay for their clothes. As she picked up the bag, Hinata turned to Sakura and asked, "Um, Sakura? Do you think we could…I don't know, maybe we could get some ice cream? It's in the food court, if Ino's anywhere in the mall she's there, and you can see how tough your competition is."

Sakura looked at Hinata, surprised at the shy Hyuuga for at least the third time in the past ten minutes or so, before her stare softened again and she nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea! Let's go and see how hard we have to work to rescue our Ino from the clutches of straight coupling!"

Hinata blushed slightly, being reminded of the energy and the determination that made her love this girl so much, even if Sakura never learned of Hinata's little crush.

**_-fin-_**


	3. Hinata cont'd

Blah. Of this whole series, I think the only chapter that I'll ever really be okay with or the like will be the first one.

I _know_ that Sakura's a bit out of character. Please do remember that fan_fiction_ isn't always perfectly alined with the fandom.

I do not own Naruto, and as such, neither do I own the characters.

**_-3-  
-Hinata 2-_**

Sakura marched down to the food court, Hinata quietly following and maybe a bit pinker than normal…well, Hinata was always pink for some reason or another. She burned so easily, whenever she forgot to put on sunscreen before training, she'd have a pinkish hue before lunch on a fairly clouded day. Between that and her being easily embarassed, her skin was always pink or red or something along those lines.

Admittedly, that constant little blush might have been what made her so cute, but Sakura didn't much care about how cute Hinata was—after all, she had the great and uncomparable beauty of Ino to quest for. It was in this quest that Sakura was now tramped through the mall, and it was Hinata who suggested this adventure, this venture for the sake of reminding Ino that Sakura wanted some of her love too.

The duo arrived at the ice cream stand in the food court, and Sakura started looking around for her beloved Ino while Hinata pondered what kind of ice cream she wanted to buy. It was in vain though—Ino's bright blonde hair was nowhere to be found in the food court. Sakura huffed, irritated at Ino's hiding.

Sakura jumped back to reality at the sound of Hinata's meek voice asking, "Um, Sakura? I…well, because I bought that outfit, I only have enough money for one cone…so, um…I guess we have to share…what kind do you want?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked, caught off-guard. "Oh…um, well…I don't know what kind of ice cream I like that you like too…it's okay Hinata, I'll just buy my own," she improvised, fishing in her purse for her wallet.

Hinata stammered for a moment before she said, "U-um, Sakura, I'd rather pay for you—I don't mind, I'm not really hungry anyway, I could just get the one for you—"

"No, no!" Sakura insisted. "I couldn't let you pay for me and go hungry yourself! It's just not—"

"B-but Sakura," Hinata protested. "I-I-I'm lactose int-intolerant, I-I just re-remembered th-that I f-forgot my pill th-this morning, s-so I c-c-can't eat i-ice cream—I-I mean I can, I just sh-shouldn't, or, y-you know…"

Hinata always stuttered when she lied, so Sakura knew instantly that the short-haired Hyuuga wasn't telling the truth. She felt anger rising within her, sparked by Ino's dissapearence and fueled by Hinata lying for no reason. "No, you're not, you're lying, and I'm paying for myself, thank you _very_ much," she snapped, whipping out a five-dollar bill and addressing the man behind the counter. "One small strawberry ice cream in a sugar cone, please," she ordered huffily.

Sakura was too busy taking her ice cream from the employee to notice Hinata stammer that she was going to the bathroom before running off in that general direction. Sakura grinned triumphantly. '_Good riddance, liar_,' she thought unforgivingly as Hinata cut through the crowd, unaware of the tears that she wiped away from her eyes.

As Hinata ran through the throng, she almost ran into two girls who were holding hands. She avoided crashing into them when they seperated, and came back together as soon as she was past, looking over their shoulders at the blindly sprinting girl, her unzipped hoodie flapping behind her. One of the girls, blonde with clear blue eyes, squinted after Hinata. "Was that…?" she wondered.

"Hm?" her friend, a brunette who put her hair into two buns resembling panda ears, asked. "Do you know her?"

"Yeah…" the blonde answered quietly. "TenTen, I think that was Hinata…"

"Hinata?" TenTen asked. "That sounds familiar…oh, yeah, she's Neji's cousin! But, Ino, how do you know Hinata?"

"Well, she graduated from the same class as I did," Ino explained. "We both passed all the exams—Hinata, Sakura, and myself are the only girls from this year's Rookie Nine."

"Oh," TenTen responded. "So…why's she crying?"

"I don't know," Ino admitted. "Maybe we should follow her and find out…"

"Yeah, okay," TenTen agreed, following her new girlfriend into the girl's bathroom.

At their destination, Hinata was already curled up in a corner of the largest stall, tears running down her face as she sobbed lightly. ' _Sakura_,' she thought sadly, ' _what did I do wrong? Do you hate people who aren't straight? But—that doesn't make sense, you like Ino, doesn't that mean that you hate yourself, too? You don't hate yourself, do you? You're so cheerful, how could you be so cheerful if you hate yourself? What is it about me that you hate so much?_'

Hinata heard the bathroom door open and tried to stop sobbing until they left. They didn't, though; she saw two pairs of feet head toward her stall, and then stop just outside the stall door, a second before she heard a familiar voice ask softly, "Hinata? Are you okay? Why are you crying?"

' _Ino_,' Hinata thought, recognizing her voice. ' _Maybe…would Sakura have been so mean if she wasn't in love with you?_'

"Hinata? What happened?" Ino tried again.

Hinata sobbed harder. "I-I-I-I, I c-can't s-s-say…"

"Why not?" Ino asked. She gasped. "You're not pregnant or anything, are you?"

A single bark of a laugh came instead of a sob, a laugh at Ino's misunderstanding that cleared the clouds of depression for a split second before the clouds converged and rained even harder than before. "N-n-n-no, I-I-I'm n-not, I-I-I…"

Ino sighed and thought for a second. "Um…did you see Naruto eating ice cream with Sakura or something?"

Hinata pictured that image and felt herself gasping for air, she thought she was drowning—both of the people she loved the most abandoned her, turned their backs on her, ignored her, left her to be alone forever—

She shook her head vigorously, half trying to clear the image and half saying no, before she remembered that Ino was on the other side of the door. "N-n-n, n, n-n, n—"

"No? Okay," Ino finished for her. "Then what is it?"

"S-s-s, s-s, Sa—s-s-s," Hinata tried to stammer, but stopped herself when she thought of what Ino might say if she knew Hinata was in love with Sakura. "U-u-uh, I-I, I, I mean…"

Ino sighed and waited patiently. "Just say it. If you don't want to say who, speak in generalities—like, my crush, or my brother, or my friend. Okay?"

Hinata tried again. "M-m-my, my crush," she wimpered, swallowed, and tried to go on, "h-h, h-hates me…"

"Who, Naruto?" Ino asked, surprised. She always thought that Naruto liked Hinata, if anything, or he would if he knew what she thought of him.

"N-n-n-n, n-n-no," Hinata stumbled.

"Really?" Ino was even more surprised by this. "Are you crushing on Sasuke or something?"

"N-n-n—"

"Okay, not Sasuke…"

Hinata took a deep, shuddering breath, and released it unevenly. How was she going to tell Ino that she loved Sakura, how would Ino react to Hinata's love for people of the same gender?

"Hmmm…" Ino muttered, thinking. "Well, Hinata, maybe if you come out, it would be a little easier for us to talk? You know, at least you could shake your head instead of trying to say no. I mean, no offense, but it's really pathetic, hearing you stumble so badly over that one syllable…"

"N-n-none, t-t-t, t-taken," Hinata spluttered, slightly hesitant to open the door, partially because she was shaking badly and didn't want to fall and hurt herself on the tile. She managed to crawl close enough to the door to reach up and open it, and it swung open, reminding Hinata that Ino hadn't come into the bathroom alone.

Standing in the doorway was Ino, as expected, with her face halfway between worried and comforting, but standing to one side and a bit behind the blonde was another girl, with brown hair held in a style that made Hinata think of a panda, her face only worry about something or another, her chocolate-brown eyes holding no comfort, just a wish that she could.

"Hinata," Ino addressed, smiling softly and understandingly, "this is TenTen. TenTen, this is Hinata, although she doesn't usually look this bad."

TenTen smiled uncertainly. "Nice to meet you, I guess, even if circumstances are a little…odd."

Hinata looked at TenTen uncertainly, then looked to Ino with a questioning look. "Y-you came h-h-here w-with…t-t-Tent-Ten?" she asked.

"Yup," Ino answered, still smiling comfortingly. "I know that when I said I couldn't come with you and Sakura, it sounded like I have a new boyfriend, but I don't—well, not quite. I have TenTen instead. You get it?"

"S-so, yo-you're…"

"You know, I guess so," Ino admitted. "I guess I'm lesbian now—and I'm happy that way, really. TenTen and I have a lot in common, she's really nice, and—"

Hinata made a little squeaking laugh. "Aha…you m-mean…s-s-seriously…"

"Yup!" Ino repeated. "So, I guess it's needless to say that I have no negative comments whatsoever about who your crush is—well, as far as gender goes, anyway, right?"

Hinata smiled, relieved, and tried to stand. Ino realized how shakey her friend was and came forward to support her while she stood. "W-well, th-then, I g-guess I should t-tell you…m-my crush? Sh-she's…" Hinata blushed. A lot. "Sh-sh-she's…"

"Hmmm…" Ino mumbled. "Let's see…who could it be…" She frowned. "You know, why is it that you're in here, crying your eyes out, and Sakura seems to have entirely ditched you?"

Hinata's eyes filled with tears again and she looked down. "Sh-sh-sh-she….I-I think…sh-she h-h-h, h-h-h, h-ha-hates me…"

Ino grimaced. "So it's Sakura, then? Why does she hate you? Does she have a problem with your crush on her?"

"I-I…I-I-I-I…I-I-I'm n-n-not…"

"You're not sure?" Ino finished. "Well…where is she? I'm going to go knock some sense—"

"No!" Hinata protested. "Sh-sh-she…p-pl-please, n-n-no…"

Ino smiled again, her eyes mirroring sadness rather than happiness. "Yeah, okay. But I still need to talk to her about all this. It's just not right—Sakura isn't _that_ homophobic, if she is at all, it's _got_ to be something else!" She turned to leave, but stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Um, TenTen, could you stay here and make sure Hinata's okay? You know, just comfort her, and don't let anything happen to her—she's like a sister to me."

"A-are you sure?" TenTen asked, uncertain what she could do for the trembling Hyuuga. "M-maybe I should go get Saku—"

"No, I should do it," Ino told her stubornly. "I'm sorry if you don't think you can take care of the situation very well, but you're my only option, and whatever _you_ think, I _know_ you can take care of Hinata well enough." With that, Ino walked out of the bathroom, leaving Hinata and TenTen alone.

"L-let's stay in this stall," TenTen decided, guiding Hinata back into the handicaped stall. "We'll just stay here and wait for Ino to come back…"

**_-fin-_**


End file.
